Demand for blooms has peaked this month

In high demand: Ng getting bundles of fresh flowers for his customers.

JOHOR BARU: Flower sales have been booming over the past few weeks with major celebrations falling in the month of May.

Florists here said the reopening of the border between Singapore and Johor also helped boost sales.

Florist Jun Lim, 35, said that sales during Mother’s Day doubled this year compared to last year.

“Overall, sales have increased and we can see more customers walking into our two shops in Tebrau.

“However, online sales decreased as people prefer to buy flowers in person these days,” she told The Star.

She noted that there was a shortage of flowers due to the sudden increase in demand coupled with a supply shortage.

“The next major celebration is the ‘520’ celebration on May 20 which is considered a romantic date for Chinese-speaking customers as the three numbers in Mandarin rhyme with the phrase ‘I love you’.

“It is a popular celebration in China and has gained momentum in other countries, including Malaysia.

“This has also caused a shortage of roses, especially red roses, which are often associated with romantic love,” she said.

Permas Jaya florist Micheal Ng, 46, said the price of flowers had increased due to the shortage.

“We usually get our flowers from India, but due to the weather there, our suppliers are unable to deliver enough flowers.

“As such, we have to import from other countries such as China and Kenya where the flowers are more expensive.

“There is a price increase of about 40% to 50% for flowers here, depending on the flower.

“For example, red roses are now about RM60 per bouquet compared to about RM40 previously,” he said.

Florist Susan Lee, 53, said there had been an increase in sales since the beginning of this year.

“In general, there has been a slight increase compared to last year.

“However, there was a drop in sales for Mother’s Day as this year people were able to celebrate the occasion by going on holiday or having dinner with their mothers.

“In the past two years, delivering flowers or gifts was the only option most people had to celebrate Mother’s Day,” she noted.